Patrick has already provided the link to EveryMac describing your early 2008 iMac computer - below are just a couple of screen shots from the details there first, appears the RAM has been upgraded to 4 GB from that offered in the original machine - can go to 6 GB w/ stipulations but will that help much? Also, macOS 10.11.x (El Capitan), as you already know, is the maximum OS for your computer - others who have gone through this process will need to 'chime in', but 8 GB RAM would be a lot better for those newer operating systems.įinally, as seen in the last image below, Mactracker estimates that your computer is worth about $130 - you might be able to get more if sold by yourself on eBay or Craig's list (if you'll willing?) - but instead of investing in RAM and/or a SSD, you might be thinking about a newer machine, depending on your budget. macOS Extractor, OS X Patcher, and MacPostFactor are apps that guide you through patching and installing OS X El Capitan (10.11), Yosemite (10.10), Mavericks(10.9), or Mountain Lion (10.8) on your older Mac.
Just before you install the new Mac OS X El Capitan, you must perform few tasks to ensure that your Mac will be ready for the.
Both Mavericks and Yosemite are easier to download and install on Mac devices, however, this is not the case with Mac OS X El Capitan. Hi MSue - responded to your cross-post and welcomed you to the forum. Preparing Mac Device for the Installation of Mac OS X El Capitan. Keeping the 4GB PAIR just might be almost as fast or faster, (it's to do with interleaving), especially if you're adding/replacing the HDD with a SSD.Īnd that 2011 hard drive is getting towards the end of its normal life and may be slowing down as well. Oppps… I forgot, your iMac can only use Maximum 6GB RAM. Probably a lot of apps like AppleWorks you might use or need won't run with later OS X versions. PPS: I'd suggest you keep your Snow Leopard on it's own partition if and when you do upgrade. But El Cap'n does tend to handle memory better than Snow Leopard does. It is the last version of OS X to have support for Intel processors without SSE4.1. You can wait until after you upgrade to see if more RAM is required, but 8GB would be my minimum recommendation. macOS Sierra (10.12) OS X El Capitan (10.11) is the twelfth major release of the OS X operating system released in 2015 by Apple. Step 2: Go to the Apple Menu and click on. Make sure you download and install the Yosemite OS before you go to the next step. If the latest Mac OS X El Capitan is causing some problems when you install an update, you need to manually download and install the Mac OS X El Capitan.
You may not have much or even any choice as to your OS X Update, defending on what you've done in the past and what you have available.ĤGB of RAM is pretty minimal and the El Capt'n is the last OS X version that Mac can run:Īpple iMac "Core 2 Duo" 2.4 20-Inch (Early 2008) Specs Step 1: Archive and install your Mac OS X El Capitan.